


i'm not picture perfect

by psychopathicdorito (orphan_account)



Series: Adrinette April [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Adrinette April, Day 4, F/M, Pre-Relationship, adrien is a smol blind bab, adrienette - Freeform, gabriel's got a cameo, gluten-free cookies(yes they exist), in where they get stuck in an elevator and marinette's got a magic backpack, plagg is done with adrien's shit, pre-reveal, stuck in an elevator/cupboard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 05:11:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6457201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/psychopathicdorito
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien and Marinette have more in common than they thought. (Day #4 of Adrinette April. The topic for the day: stuck in an elevator/cupboard.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	i'm not picture perfect

Tikki had told her that the reason she was a ladybug-themed heroine with the power of creation was that ladybugs were supposed to be lucky, like how Chat Noir, the black cat-themed hero with the power of destruction, was supposed to be unlucky. 

Well, the girl behind Ladybug's mask knew for a fact that there was _no_ way the boy behind Chat Noir's mask was unluckier than her in that moment.

**To: Alya**  
**> ALYA THIS ISN'T FUNNY**  
**> I WILL FAINT**  
**> FALL TO THE GROUND WITH SHAME**

**From: Alya**  
**> And Adrien will be there to save you.**

The situation didn't get any better once Adrien had heard the poorly contained scream that Marinette gave. 

"Don't worry, Marinette." the blond model said, placing a hand on her shoulder in an act of comfort. "We'll get out of here safely, I promise." 

Considering Marinette didn't die of a heart attack, Adrien was right. 

The two were currently stuck in an elevator, with their worried teacher and friends waiting below them. As soon as the elevator had jolted and the lights had started to flicker, Adrien immediately whipped out his phone and informed Nino of what was happening. 

Marinette, on the other hand, struggled between trying not to fall even more in love with Adrien and trying to make her best friend see that, no, this was _not_ a good opportunity to tell Adrien her true feelings for him! 

"Nino says that they're on their way." Adrien had said, finally getting off the phone to face his mysteriously flustered classmate. "You're not claustrophobic, are you?" 

Marinette shook her head, forcing her mouth shut. Speaking would only result in her stuttering and rambling in front of Adrien, and God forbid she accidentally call him "hot stuff" again. 

That was how they had ended up alone together in a jammed elevator, Adrien looking like he wanted to talk about something but then deciding against it, and Marinette desperately trying not to lay her eyes on Adrien, lest she swoon.

It didn't help that they couldn't get any more reception. 

_If only Tikki could come out_ , Marinette sighed, stealing a glance at her purse. _Then I wouldn't be so shy around Adrien, and I could talk to someone else._

"Hey, Marinette?" 

Marinette let out a yelp of surprise at the sudden break in her train of thoughts, causing her phone to fly upwards in the air. She fumbled, stepping forward to try and catch it and then falling flat on her face. 

Apparently, her phone hadn't gone the same route and had instead fallen into Adrien Agreste's surprisingly agile hands. 

_If only she could have fallen into those strong, tanned arms - wait, no! No, shut up, Marinette!_

"Are you okay?" Adrien asked, immediately pocketing Marinette's phone and helping her up. "Is anything hurt? Broken? Do you feel dizzy?" 

"Yes to the last one." Marinette said dreamily, still dizzy from the fall. 

"You are?! Oh no, maybe you've got a concussion!" 

Adrien's diagnosis immediately brought Marinette back to reality, where she immediately pulled away from Adrien, trying to hide her grin as she fumbled over her words. "N-no! I-I'm fine, Adrien, don't worry about it! Ha, it's just, clumsy old me!" She forced a fake laugh at the last sentence, pointing to herself as if Adrien wouldn't get what she had meant. 

An amused smile grazed her companion's face as he handed her her phone. "Here. You sure you're okay?" he asked again. 

"Yes. Definitely. Absolutely. Tip top shape. I feel amazing!" Marinette rambled on, and she froze after realizing what she probably sounded like. 

Sure enough, the slightly amused smile on Adrien's face had turned into a mix of a confused and amused look on his gorgeous face as he watched Marinette talk. The girl sighed, shaking her head. "I-I'm sorry, Adrien." 

"Why should you be?" 

"I got us in this mess in the first place. Now you're late to all your appointments! You must hate me." Marinette slumped to the floor, bringing her knees up to her chest and trying to fight the tears that were brimming in her eyes. 

Her thoughts brought her back to how she had lost her purse in the building, how she definitely couldn't leave it there and come back the next day because Tikki was there, and who knows when an akuma would attack. She should have just made it up there by herself, but Adrien had immediately volunteered, saying two pairs of eyes were better than one. 

Spending time alone with Adrien in the museum while looking for Tikki was hard enough, but now that they were alone doing nothing but waiting for someone to come get them out of the elevator, Marinette's nerves had gotten the best of her, and now Adrien probably didn't want anything to do with her. 

She was a klutz, and she would always be the klutz while she was Marinette. Marinette, the unlucky klutz who stumbled over her own words. 

And Ladybug was _different_. No wonder Adrien had liked her alter ego instead of her! Where Marinette's luck ran out, Ladybug's luck never seemed to end. Where Marinette was clumsy and nervous, Ladybug was brave and stood tall. 

Even if Adrien did find out who she was behind the mask, she knew he wouldn't love her. He'd love Ladybug, and only Ladybug. Never Marinette. 

"I-I'll spare you a secret."

With a turn of her head, Marinette found Adrien sitting close by her, a nervous smile on his face. It was enough to get her out of her own insecurities as she desperately wiped her eyes clean of tears. "W-what?"

"I know how you feel. I mean, there are times when I can mess things up. Badly." 

"What?" Marinette let out a hollow laugh. "You?" 

Adrien nodded. "Yep! I'm always either late, or I get caught up doing things I'm not supposed to do, and I've got this one friend who always, no matter what I do, cleans up after me." 

Marinette giggled. "That sounds a lot like someone I know." she admitted, thinking about Chat Noir and his antics whenever they had to fight an akuma. The superhero always apologized, either in a pun ("I a- _paw_ -logize, My Lady!"), or rambles that reminded Marinette of herself with Adrien ("I-I'm really sorry, Ladybug! I promise, I didn't mean to, not this time!") 

Adrien grinned, happy he had gotten Marinette to laugh. "Yeah, well, I always make an effort to tell her I don't mean it. I never mean it, it's just, tardy old me has got some mannerisms I somehow can't make disappear." the boy shrugged. "But you know what the crazy thing is?" 

Marinette sniffled. "What?" she asked. 

Adrien's bright green eyes were suddenly looking straight at her blue ones, smiling a smile that made Marinette feel like she was on cloud nine. "It's that despite everything, she tells me she still needs me around. It's not like she gets _paid_ to pick up after me. She just tells me things wouldn't be the same without me. I mean, how is that possible? Wouldn't she be able to get things done earlier without me?" he asked. 

Marinette's common sense told her that Adrien was asking a rhetorical question, but she couldn't just leave the guy feeling like he was useless. "Maybe it doesn't matter whether she cleans up after you or not, or whether she would get things done without you or not." she started, looking straight ahead for concentration. "If she's your friend - and she sounds like one, too - it doesn't matter _what_ kind of tomfoolery you bring to the situation. What matter's is that you're doing what she needs you to do - you're there for her and helping her out with your presence. Friends always find a way to make things better, you see? Even if it's not necessarily helping you get a job done faster. It can also mean helping you get the job done with a smile on your face and with love in your heart."

"There you go! See, you've said it yourself!" Adrien exclaimed, grinning widely. "That's why you don't have to be sorry for getting us stuck here, Marinette! I was the one who volunteered to help you find your purse, you didn't force me to come with you. And between the both of us, I don't really feel like fencing today." 

Marinette laughed. "You're saying you like being stuck here?"

"Aside from the fact I'm getting sorta hungry?" Adrien asked. "Yeah, maybe I am." 

"Hungry?" Marinette echoed, perking up as she remembered her father had packed her some snacks. She grabbed a pack of cookies, handing them to an awestruck Adrien. "Here, you can have this! I can always make another one at home." 

"You - you really mean it?" Adrien asked again, and Marinette found it odd that his expression reminded her of another blonde. 

Nevertheless, she nodded, grinning as Adrien struggled not to stuff the cookies in his mouth. "Mmmm, Marinette, these are delicious! You know, you and your family are amazing." 

"Consider it my thanks. I was pretty close to tears back there." Marinette smiled. 

"I'd say you don't need to thank me, but these cookies are just too good." Adrien grinned, and Marinette laughed, Adrien laughing along, and for a while, the two were oddly reminded of a day in the rain, a defective umbrella, and the forgiveness that had gone unspoken but was obviously there. 

That was, until the elevator jolted back to life. 

With a yelp, both Marinette and Adrien tripped, but in the split second that Marinette was about to hit the floor, Adrien found his footing and grabbed her, holding her close to his chest. 

_Ding._

"Ehem." 

The two teenagers turned to see Gabriel Agreste in all his formality, giving his son and the girl a look, as if asking them to explain their current position. Behind him stood the rest of their class, trying to see what had happened to their classmates. Adrien and Marinette then immediately jumped apart from one another, both faces flustered and embarrassed as they tried to explain to the businessman that _no_ , his son was _not_ trying to kiss anyone, the elevator had jumped, their position was coincidental - but Gabriel put his hand up, clearly signalling for them both to stop. 

"Adrien. What are those?" 

Multiple pairs of eyes turned to see Adrien guiltily holding the pack of cookies Marinette had given him as if he was a kid who had stolen from the cookie jar. "Father, I-" 

"They're gluten free!" 

Suddenly, all eyes were on Marinette, who, in a shocking bout of courage, had spoken up in front of Gabriel Agreste - something Adrien himself couldn't bring himself to do. 

"Come again?" Gabriel seemed to be challenging the young girl to repeat her sentence. 

"The cookies I gave Adrien. I know he's on a strict diet, and my father wanted to make a special snack for everyone in my class." It wasn't a lie, seeing as Marinette had successfully given everyone in her class specialized snacks that day. The only small lie was that her father hadn't done that. "They're gluten free, so there's nothing to worry about. It was my fault he got stuck in there with me, anyway."

There was silence as they all waited for the elder Agreste's answer, and in a few minutes he spoke, speaking straight to Marinette as he said. "Miss...?"

"Dupain-Cheng. Marinette Dupain-Cheng." Marinette confirmed, her heart beating in her chest.

Why did she make such rash decisions?

But Gabriel only nodded, a look of satisfaction clear in his eyes. "Well, Ms. Dupain-Cheng, I'm thankful someone's thoughtful enough to look after my son when no one else is around. I'll certainly be sure to look for you first when inquiring about my son." 

Marinette fought the urge to allow her jaw to drop in shock. 

Gabriel Agreste say _what?_

"Now, Adrien, you're late for your photoshoot." Gabriel addressed his son, walking ahead as he clearly expected his son to follow. Adrien took the hint and walked after him, but he stopped by Marinette and in a quick flash, had engulfed her in a hug. 

Marinette swallowed the scream that was forcing it's way up to her throat, looking dazed as Adrien finally pulled back. "Thanks, Marinette." he smiled, and without another word, had followed his father into their limousine. 

Meanwhile, Marinette still stood where she was, dazed, and repeating in her head the sequence of events that had happened. 

"Uh-oh. I think someone's broken." Alya's voice broke through the daydream, hands on her hips and a smirk on her face as she made her way beside Marinette. "So, did you kiss him?" 

_"Alya!"_ Marinette exclaimed, feeling the blood rush to her face. 

Right, like she wasn't blushing enough. 

"I kid!" Alya laughed, shaking her head. "I saw what happened, girl, and let me tell you, standing up for Adrien in front of his own father?! I've got to know what happened before that!"

"He called me amazing!" Marinette squealed, turning to her friend and jumping up and down. "He hugged me, and called me amazing, and thanked me, and - and he saw me _cry_ , Alya!" 

"You're _happy_ about that?!" 

"No! But he cared enough to try to stop me crying!" Marinette continued, looking like an excited puppy. "He's so _perfect_ , Alya!" 

"Days gone without saying Adrien Agreste is perfect: 0." Alya giggled. She grabbed hold of her friend's arm, leading her gently to the direction of the Dupain-Cheng's bakery. "But right now, you need to go and tell your parents what's happened, they've been worried sick about you." 

"You're right." Marinette nodded, knowing her mother and father were they type to be worried sick if Gabriel Agreste had suddenly been worried enough to oversee that the elevator repairing wouldn't damage his son. "Then we can talk about Adrien?" 

"In your room with all those pictures of him? Definitely."

Meanwhile, in his dressing room, Adrien stood thinking things over. Plagg floated beside him, nibbling on a slice of Camembert cheese as he stared in curiosity at his holder. "What you thinking about, hm?" 

"What Marinette said." Adrien muttered. "She sounded so much like Ladybug, it's surreal." 

"So, what, you're falling in love with the girl, too?" 

"N-no!" Adrien exclaimed, but the blush that spread on his face said otherwise. "Besides, even if I did, I have as much a chance with her as I have with Ladybug." 

Adrien didn't notice the Camembert falling to the ground, too busy with the fact that the stage directors were already calling him onstage. He gestured for Plagg to behave, and the door was closed, leaving the kwami floating in disbelief. 

"Of course. Of _all_ the holders in the world, I get the one that can't see what's _right in front of him_."

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Ohmygod I can't believe I finished this! It's our second day of finals tomorrow but my commitment to this beautiful ship cannot be broken _no matter what_. So please enjoy this! 
> 
> EDIT (April 5, 2016): I'm really sorry if I offended anyone before this update! I was just informed that 'half-Chinese' was offending on Tumblr, so if anyone was hurt or offended, please know that this wasn't my intention, and I'll surely do my best to make sure it's never repeated! 
> 
> Disclaimer: Miraculous Ladybug is owned by Zagtoon and Thomas Astruc. This is non-canon, merely a work of fiction by an adoring fan.


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